Articles in this section

There are diverse views about the politics of the JVP and the inherent limitations contained in their political discourse. In particular, many of the views that exist regarding the politics of comrade Rohana Wijeweera and his assassination have contrasting narratives. In such an environment, (...)

How during a brutal, 25-year civil war in Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers failed the women soldiers who sacrificed everything to fight for a sovereign state for the Tamil minority.
Velu Chandra Kala was 17 when she charged into her school principal’s office with a bag of milk toffees. She was small (...)

The Vavuniya Diaries, by Neville Jayaweera Ravaya Publishers, Maharagama 2017 pp117+xvii, Rs250
This slim memoir spanning a few months in 1971 is noteworthy for its insider view on the failed first insurrection of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP—Peoples Liberation Front), or more exactly its (...)

The Government of Sri Lanka is planning to celebrate the forty years operation of neoliberal policies introduced in 1977. This also coincided with the Prime Minister’s forty years in Parliament. Senani and Kalpa, two of my former students gave me a wonderful gift when they returned back to Sri (...)

In this fifth extract from his book Sri Lanka: Arrogance of Power – Myth, Decadence and Murder, Rajan Hoole looks at the central role played by the Left, and especially the LSSP, in the period stretching from the country’s independence through to the 1970s.
As the country drifted towards (...)

The impulsion towards nationalist sentiment in politics, has in our view, exceedingly profound roots in the life style of the modern man, which makes for homogeneity of a single high culture within any political unit, and which condemns those not masters of the said culture, or unacceptable (...)

The passing away of Silan Kadirgamar last Saturday has left an unfillable void in the lives of many who knew him and appreciated their association with him. Silan’s circles of associations went far beyond the usual circles of family and friends that most people have. Those of us who were (...)

Plantation workers of Sri Lanka have historically been subjected to much adversity and oppression before they rightfully became citizens. But not much has changed since
At the end of a back-breaking day, only one question awaits tea plucker Velu Parameswari: ‘‘How many kgs?’’
That is all “dorai” (...)

Patabandi Don Nandasiri Wijeweera known to the world at large as Rohana Wijeweera was killed twenty–five years ago on November 13th 1989.The revolutionary leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) or Peoples Liberation Front was 49 years old at the time of his death. The mastermind behind (...)

Understanding what Sri Lanka’s Great Hartal meant in the global order of the 1950s, and what its legacy might mean for the country today.
This year, 12 August marks the 60th anniversary of the Great Hartal of 1953, the nationwide strike and mass public agitation that brought down independent (...)

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has had a direct impact on literary production in Tamil, comparatively greater than in the case of Sinhala. This is largely due to the fact that it has been the Tamil-speaking communities who were most directly and severely affected by the ethnic conflict (...)

As Sri Lanka moves from a situation of war to no-war with the silencing of the big guns, the question of a peace with justice and democracy looms large. The first few months of this year culminating in the final offensive of in May saw horrendous suffering for the population of the Vanni (...)

The legend of Diyasena takes us back to the times of Parakramabahu the Great. If I remember correctly, an ascetic had predicted that the king will be reborn as Diyasena 2500 years after the Buddha, to save Buddhism from extinction. Now the legend has been revised to say that Diyasena has come (...)

The system of caste persists as an integral part of Hindu society. Colonial rulers let it be and where useful encouraged it. Modernisation made an impact, but did not eliminate it. Although the Hindu Varna system is the reference point for its justification, caste structure and hierarchy vary (...)